And they have discovered that if you don’t take time out to go to the polls

You can manage very nicely to get through thirty-six holes.

Oh let us cover these clever people very conspicuously with loathing,

For they are un-citizens in citizens’ clothing.

They attempt to justify their negligence

On the ground that no candidate appeals to people of their intelligence,

But I am quite sure that if Abraham Lincoln (Rep.) ran against Thomas Jefferson (Dem.),

Neither man would be appealing enough to squeeze a vote out of them.

Do you support our veterans and our military? Prove it.

Honor the freedoms so many fought and died for. Register and vote.

Susan Pepperdine

Fairway

Beautiful America

Both parties have shifted to the right — Democrats becoming moderate and Republicans chasing the “Lost Cause,” in order to solve the thorny problems of our day: gun rights and “pro-choice.” Both have lost track of our basic needs — breathable air, potable water, healthy food and appropriate shelter.

Air approaches the quality of that in Beijing. Water becomes scarce and undrinkable, not unlike India.

Both obesity and hunger plague our children, and the homeless population increases. Even secondary needs like family and education suffer.

It is not OK to be cowed by religious creeds and misinterpretations of the Constitution. Beliefs and opinions cannot be substituted for what is needed to refurbish our real goals — integrity of governance, clarity of thought and proportionality of resources within all institutions (three phrases used by Aristotle to define beauty).

The song puts forth, “America the Beautiful,” not “America the Great.”

John Nelles

Shawnee

Sexual assault

Regarding the alleged assault at Shawnee Mission East High School, parents and their children have resources in our community to stop sexual assault and abuse.

As community members, educators and parents, we can all do our part to keep the conversation about sexual assault prevention going long before our children head to college.

We invite the community to the MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault) Fall Forum featuring Sofie Karasek, founder of End Rape on Campus.

Sofie is also featured in the Sundance Film Festival award-winning movie “The Hunting Ground,” which chronicled sexual assault and rape on our college campuses.

Sidie over Yoder

Kevin Yoder has been a U.S. congressman for several terms. While he has shown some ability to resolve individual constituents’ governmental problems, as shown in his lavish television ads, he is not effective when it comes to the larger issues.

This inability was most recently demonstrated by his failure to get the slam-dunk passage of the Kelsey Smith cellphone information bill enacted into a much needed law. This bill even had bipartisan support, something not often had by Yoder, and he still could not get the job done.

Kansas needs an effective U.S. representative, not someone whose main credential is jumping naked into the Red Sea in front of mixed company.

I’ll be voting for Jay Sidie this November.

Douglas Taylor

Roeland Park

Voting in Democrats

The upcoming Kansas Senate and House races are very important because Gov. Sam Brownback has two more years in office. My humble recommendations are Democrats Logan Heley for state Senate District 21 (all of Lenexa/part of Overland Park) and Helen Stoll for state representative of District 17 (Lenexa/Shawnee).

In the primary, we ousted ultraconservatives from both of these seats, but let’s not stop there. Don’t send “moderate” Republicans to do a Democrat’s job.

As Democrats, Heley and Stoll will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact. They both have principled stands on all major issues in order to fight Brownback head on, not moderate his deceit and ultimately cave into his conservative majority.

Heley’s opponent voted for Brownback, stands with Kevin Yoder and is considering a vote for Donald Trump. At a recent criminal justice forum, Stoll’s opponent was the only candidate to favor the continuation of the death penalty and felony job application disclosure. Doesn’t sound very moderate to me.

We deserve better.

It’s up to us, Kansans. Let’s not wait for Brownback to retire to start repairing the damage he’s done. Let’s not blow it like we did in 2014.